Cornice



, 2 1944- w. J. PURCELL ET AL CORNICE Filed July 1, 1942 'INVENTOR s11am J. Purcell 0 :9 RJVurdOCIC ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 29, 1944 UNITEDeor 13.- Mu dwkme to -H L- Judd Q r fl nng,.'a]c rrc a on of Del reApplication .I -uly 1,1942, Serial No. 449cm cam (E -M9 81,

Our invention relates to a cornice which may, for example, -be used on awindow frame, and more particularlyto cornice construction whereby acornice with vfiHiShGd COIH8IS may easily be produced. l

It has been common practice to-make the corners of cornices bymiteringat a45 degree angle the'ends of the main or front partof thecornice and also the front ends of the return or bracket parts, so thatthe mitered :ends when placed :together will form a'90 degree corner.The mitering of the ends to be joined at right-angles. is frequently notaccurate and the resulting joint is poor; for .example the'joint may notbe -well closed. In other instances prefinished corners are .-.used.However, with :the last mentioned arrangement .thefront parts attachedto the two corners must be connected-bye more .orriless unsightlyextender which not only connects the ends but permits adjustment inlengthof the cornice.

It .is the principal" object .of ,our invention to provide .a cornice orcornice .constr-uctionwhereby it will be relatively easy for one toconstruct a;finishe d cornice by cutting oifas'uitable; lengthqt-cornice board and attachingtothe sameeat opposite ends, returns or.bracketportions of the cornice board, by. means of suitable finishedcor.- ners.

Other objects of the invention will loe-here,-

inafter nte ut .orw l ibeqome appare these skilledin'theart.

th w nswhichish ws, fo si ust ative u p s s n na r fe red form o the vntion-- Fig. 1 is a perspective o view, showing the upper generally beenjoined by means of miter joints which-involve considerable skill andcare in making', and as a matter pfzfact joints made in this wayusuall-y have noticeable 1 gaps, particularly if made at the placeswhere the cornices are to be used.- It will be evidentthat the :returnsor brackets 'may be made from waste pieces of cornice "boards.

{Iheparts so far referredto are well knownto those skilled in the art.According to our present invention, the front rail l-0 and-the returns Hare connected' togethenby preformed finished corners l 2-which mayltakedifierent:forms.--

Each of these corners l t-may comprise two parts or sides 13' ofcornice-board-= accurately mitered as by -a machine ;securedlfirmlytogether by suitable means "which-may include reinforcing metal plates I4: placed eat the tops and also the bottoms of said parts and securedfirmly thereto, as by screws J5, to retain said parts :in

fixed relation with'respect to each other. It will be evident that thecorners I2 may .be made of relatively short'piecesof cornice boardwithlthe outer, ends .01? thesides l3..fini'shed with curved in surfacesconforming "in. contour ..to' the rails and tothe returns.

part of a window frame and attached thereto a I cornice, illustratingone e nbodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the left end of the cornice in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the interior of one form offinished corner; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the interior of a device forattaching the cornice to the window frame.

The invention will be described as embodied in a window cornice of whichthe front or rail 10 is a single piece of cornice board and the returnsor bracket portions Ii are pieces of the.

In order for the corners l2 tofitcloselyover the ends of the rail andthe returns, the inner faces of the sides [3 must be-formed vwithsuchonto rs .(Fia; 3) vwi l5:0 amem ntithe contour o a t e front face he ril. ,tther by enablin losely over adjacent en A illustr ted .in fi s:....and A. th rail a .10- is cut with square ends and to the lengthequired hy-.th -.:width ...0 f the windqw rframe andv the thickn ss. of.het eturns-it l, andther orners are iplacedta hereon so that the endsofthe rail abut against the corresponding sides of the corners. Then theforward ends of the returns II are inserted in the cornicecorne'rs l2Withtheir ends abutting-against the inner sides of the ends of the rail10. The parts thus assembled may be secured in position by screws l8passing through suitable openings in the plates I4 and screwed into themembers It] and II.

Although the illustrated embodiment of the inetii ns I ....asil ustratsdY of each bracket being secured to a side of the window frame by screws22 passing through a keyhole slot 23 and a lower opening 24 in such thereturns to the rail including premade corners each with two sides andreinforcing means connecting said sides at the top, each of said cornersreceiving beneath said reinforcing means the front end of a return andthe adjacent end of said rail.

3. A cornice comprising a rail of cornice board cut to length, returnsformed from said cornice board, and premade corners receiving the endsof said rails and the corresponding ends of said returns, each cornerhaving two sides with the ,same exterior contour as said cornice boardand flange portion. The screws for the keyhole slots may be installed inadvance and the cornice; hung thereon with the upper'screws 22 engag.

ing the upper ends of the keyhole slots 23. The

cornice may further be secured in place by other screws 22 passingthrough the lower openings.

All of the screws 22 may be tightened and the cornice strongly securedin fixed position.

. The present invention involves many advantageous features relating tothe parts of the cornice and assembly thereof. The .return rnem bers orbrackets ll may be made up in advance,

whereby the, only preliminary step to be performed on the job is to cutoff a suitablelength of rail. Then the parts may be assembled to producethe final form shown in thedrawing. The corners are prefinished andconform to the contour of the board or the forward rail. The parts areheld together with a minimum of connections. There is no unsightlyextender for the rail, such as required in cornice constructions wherethere are rail sections extending inwardly from preformed corners andthe adjacent ends have to be held together by extenders which connectthe adjacent ends of the rail sections and, hold these. sections inalignment. Furthermore, the dealer or. consumer can make and installthis particular cornice without millwork or special tools.

While the invention has been described in considerable detailand apreferred form illustrated, it is to be understood that many changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

What we claim is: v

1. A cornice of the character described comprising a front rail ofcornice strip material, returns, and means for connecting the returns tothe ends of said rail including premade cornice comers into each ofwhich fits the forward end of a return and the adjacent end of saidrail.

2. A cornice comprising a rail of the requisite length of cornice board,returns formed from the same cornice board, and means for connectin thecontour extending across the ends of said sides to merge in appearancewith the front surface of the rail.

4. A cornice comprising a rail of cornice board, returns of such corniceboard, and premade corners comprising sides and reinforcing platesconnecting said sides at top and bottom, and receiving the forward endsof the returns and the adjacent ends of the rail, the forward ends ofsaid Y returns being secured to said plates.

5. A cornice comprising a rail of cornice board, returns of such corniceboard, and premade corners each having sides outside of the rail andreturns, the outer surfaces of said sides having the same contour assaid cornice rail and the inner surfaces of said sides having contourssubstantially complementary to the contour of the outer face of thecornice board to facilitate a close fit with the outer surfaces of theends of the rail and the returns.

,6. A premade cornice corner for connecting the rail and returns of thecornice, comprising two sides having the same exterior contour as thesaid rail and returns, and reinforcing plates connecting the sides atthe top and the bottom close to the edge of saidcorner.

7. A premade cornice corner for connecting th rail and returns of thecornice, comprising two sides having the same exterior contour as therail and the returns, and an interior contour complementary to theexterior contour of said rail and returns.

8. A premade cornice corner for connecting the rail-and returns of thecornice, comprising two side pieces secured together, each of said sidepieces having inside contours complementary in shape to the outsidecontours of the rail and returns of the cornice. 9. A premade cornicecorner for connecting the rail and returns of the cornice, comprisingtwo side pieces secured together, said side pieces having surfacecontours complementary in shape to the adjacent surface contours of therail and returns to interfit therewith.

WILLIAM J. PURCELL. GEO. R. MURDOCK.

